The Argive Ambassador
by Rynoc1114
Summary: A recent assembly meeting has delivered that the Mongols are attacking Greece. Agoracritus, Militia leader and Ambassador for Argos now has to bring together his army and come up with a battle strategy that will defend Argos and its people. But the Mongols have other plans for Argos. Will Agoracritus be able to defend his homeland or will the Mongols take over the land he loves?
1. Assembly

**Hello everyone! I am so sorry my publishing has been scarce. But I have now been inspired to make this story because recently for a Greek Polis competition at school, my polis (Argos) won with a point count of 335. So I decided in honor to give my favorite polis a story of its own!**

 **Chapter 1** **:** **Assembly**

Hordes of people from each polis gathered into the Parthenon for annual assembly. I myself had a special seat near the speaking area for the address I was to give. "Gentlemen," Alexander spoke in his finest Greek, "Today we speak of an important matter that has been up roaring in Corinth. I am talking about the Mongolian pillage of the farmland." A collected gasp came from the room with some men fainting.

"Damn straight this is important!" A man named Nike yelled, "Our perfect farmland exports hundreds of thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables every season! Our Mongolians will leave our agoras dry and our stomachs empty!"

Everyone was nodding in agreement as Corinth was best fit for farms. "Men, men! Quiet! Quiet! Now do not fret, for we have a plan, right Agoracritus?" Decreed Alexander.

"Uh, yeah, of course!" I responded, not really prepared, "That is, for Argos! Unlike the rest of the other poilises, Argos has a plan!"

"Please," A man named Zero replied, "Corinth has a lovely battle plan! Why, our slaves have already joined our forces which will be guarding each farm and agora there is. Oh but that must be NOTHING compared to Argos' plans huh? Tell me Critus, what do you have?"

"Well," I replied nervously, "We are gathering soldiers from every polis who is willing to accept it! Spartan soldiers who have completed their training but hate the horrible conditions are most definitely invited! Any soldier who is unhappy with their army can come volunteer with us! After all, we do not want you under a sadistic ruler like Zero! So come one, come all and bring your horse!"

Zero sat silently, frowning at the thought of Agoracritus counting on soldiers not being loyal to their own homeland. _How could Critus think of a contrived, twisted plan like that? But of course, none of my soldiers will join him! I will execute anyone who says otherwise!_ Thought Zero, scratching his bushy mustache.

"Thank you Agoracritus, ambassador of Argos, now the leader of the Spartan army shall speak." Alexander said nervously, hoping Sparta would not create any tension during the assembly.

"People, people!" Leonardis boomed, "These puny Mongols are no match for even ten of my men standing before you! If anyone here would be disloyal enough to join the Argive army, then they are not allowed on my premises! It would be stupid to let them back into my army! So as for our plan, we will invade the Mongols instead of standing back like Argos and Corinth. So, any questions for my stellar army?"

"Yes," I replied, "What about the recent pillage of the Spartan camp secretly set up in Corinth? Any word on how you will deal with both Corinth's army and the death of two-hundred soldiers?"

"We are not able to give on the recent attack, but what we will say is that the only reason those soldiers were killed were because they were our… uhh… weak links! Yes, we send them to a camp for an impending attack! So that attack is not our fault!" Leonardis spoke with uncertainty as he explained their "elaborate" plan. There were countless conversations in the Parthenon as folks discussed Leo's "unstoppable" army.

"Now we have one last polis that will speak today. Megara's ambassador, uh, could not attend this assembly because of previous affairs. Icarus, ambassador of Athens shall speak."

"Greetings citizens!" Icarus shouted with happiness. "Our plan to protect ourselves and Greece from this horrible conflict has already been set into motion! We have set up stone walls on the border of our city with archers ready to fire immediately when a threat is spotted. Also, we have put city funds toward heavier, stronger armor for our army and the metal will be in by tomorrow. So while Argos and Sparta stumble around to look for a plan, we already have ours. So please, come to Athens for a place of peace and protection! After all, you would not want to stick around n Sparta, now would you?" Spartans everywhere in the stands were rioting, throwing others onto the floor and punching those who dishonored Sparta.

"We are not a waste of space, Athens has done nothing and you dare insult us?" A man yelled toward the ambassadors, putting a look of confusion on their faces.

"People, sit down!" Alexander yelled at the top of his lungs, his face red with anger. But before he could continue, a boom was heard in the distance.

A little boy ran in and yelled "Athens is under attack! Our ships are being raided by Mongolians!"

People started freaking out and running all around the Parthenon when a Mongol snuck in and started to shout "Greeks, do not panic! One of our ships simply get off its path so we are retrieving it! There is no need to panic, just a simple mistake!"

"If it's just a mistake, why is one our boats on fire, broken into pieces, left to sink?"

"Well, there was a slight accident with a torch…we will repay you most definitely! So do jot fret, we will simply take our plun….ship and leave your delicate, beautiful, but yet most sensitive and easy to scare city-state!"

"How can we trust you?" Zero asked, "How do we know you are not attacking us? After all, you did pillage our farm land in Corinth! You savages could be up to something!" The rest of the assembly nodded in agreement.

"Malone," I whispered to one of my soldiers, "I need you to gather the rest of the soldiers to sneak out of here and attack the people who robbing the dock. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Malone responded, hoping he would not die in battle. _Boom! Bam! Kersploosh!_ Sounds of battle reigned as water splashed up against the shores. _Crack! Crash!_ I then heard what sounded like a battering ram outside. Stones started falling from the ceiling. The columns were rattling as I started to think. _Oh no! The Parthenon is going to crumble! I must warn the others! But how?_ A chunk of stone fell from the ceiling. _The roof!_


	2. Defending the Parthenon

Chapter Two: Defending the Parthenon

 _I need to warn everyone about the Parthenon so we do not all die!_ Thoughts like that were rushing through my head as another stone fell and took out two people. Nobody noticed the lives of people being robbed by the second because the Mongolian named Karran Gengharu was desperately trying to convince the men part of the assembly that their docks were not just getting robbed. The group of soldiers I brought with me could not help because they were fighting off the Mongolians near the docks. _That's it!_ I thought, _I will tell Zero's soldiers to take out the battering rams!_ But I had to act fast, as part of the ceiling fell which could mean certain destruction and the death of hundreds of people and every ambassador/commander of each polis. "Corinthian soldiers!" I shouted, "Follow me!"

Two of the soldiers started to go in my direction so I knew that I was getting somewhere. We found a hole in the wall and started climbing through. The sky was black as Bucephalus which rendered us blind while we carefully stepped in the muddy grass. "I see soldiers with a battering ram near us!" A soldier named Caliph whispered.

"Men, attack!" I exclaimed with my sword in hand. _Slash! Shing! Rip!_ The Mongolian's tough, leather uniform was hard to break through and even dented my sword. I kept slashing through the leather as Caliph attacked from behind and took the sword from my foe. Another Corinthian solder named Lara's tried picking up the battering ram and throwing it down the hill. The weight of the ram ended up pulling Lara's down the steep drop and the mud only seemed to make it faster.

"LARAS NO!" Caliph screamed, "COME BACK!" Just before Lara's fell, he grabbed the ankles of the last two Mongolians and cut another one's heel. Caliph tried running down the hill to see if Lara's was alive but I had to stop him as he would have died as well with the rest of them.

"Caliph, it is too late." I grabbed Caliph's military jacket in the mist of his crying. From the top of the hill you could see Lara's and the rest of the Mongolians who were using the battering ram. Blood was splattered all over the armor and bodies at the bottom of the hill. The only light was a stroke from the gods during the black night. But Caliph and I saw another source of light. It was not an honorary ray from the gods but instead…a fire!

My hoplites were trying to unhitch the Mongolian boats from the docks which would distract the Mongols. But From a distance, it looked like my men were outnumbered even with their silver swords and shields still going strong.

"They are still pillaging our ships! What do we do now Critus?" Caliph asked, his eyes watery and body somewhat sickly drooping down. "I have an idea!" Caliph started speaking, "We need the rest of the Corinthian military! But first we need to alert them and find a way to get down quickly."

Caliph and I sprinted back into the Parthenon but when we got back in we noticed a slight problem. Even without battering rams, the Mongols found a way to get in. _The holes!_ I thought to myself. There were armed soldiers everywhere trying to corner civilians. Leonardis who I thought would be attacking directly, was only standing back until…

"Corinthian army attack!" Caliph raised his sword and charged into a group of Mongols. The Corinthian army sprung up and started stabbing surprised Mongols. Leather was flying everywhere and the floors were covered with dead soldiers from both sides. Caliph charged in and stabbed a Mongol right in the back of the head which provoked other standing soldiers around him. Three turned around and simultaneously tried stabbing Caliph. Caliph swiftly dodged the attack and each sword collided. _Shink!_ The screeching noise distracted other Mongols and the Corinthian army was looking strong. Karran came into the battle with a stolen horse and started trampling Corinthians with the power of his stallion. With a spear in hand, Karran impaled an unknowing soldier.

"This is what happens when you do not listen people!" Karran shouted. Alexander was fed up with this battle as even innocent civilians started throwing rocks and joining in. Karran kept stabbing innocents and soldiers when over in the corner he heard a powerful neigh. While the Mongols were confused and some even slightly disturbed, the Greeks were only thinking of one word; _Bucephalus!_

"COME BACK WITH YOUR SHIELD OR ON IT!" Leonardis shouted as he ran alongside with Alexander. He was charging at double the speed I have ever seen him go. Alexander came behind a group of Mongols and trampled them with his mighty stallion. The tides were turning unlike the bodies of the Mongols as the victory was inching towards Greece's favor. Karran tried to retreat with his army but civilians kept throwing rocks and even shooting arrows at Karran's evading troops. Leonardis had the rest of his soldiers charge at the retreating Mongols which resulted in even more bloodshed between the two armies. Spartans were dropping to the floor with final blows coming from all sides. Karran was riding out of the Parthenon when Zero stabbed his horse in the leg. The horse screeched and Karran was kicked onto the Parthenon's stone wall. The impact of the collision made a large crack in the wall which worried me. _What if the wall breaks and he escapes? How would we catch him then? What he is leading the attack on Argos as well as Athens?_ Questions were flowing through my head but unfortunately I had no time to answer them.

"Give up and let us put you down easy or else we shall give you a slow and painful death!" Zero exclaimed as his skinny, dirty, tan arm pointed a jagged sword at Karran's head. When Karran did not answer, Zero forcefully pushed the sword through Karran's head. But before the blade even touched his forehead, Karran pulled his thick, leather helmet over his eyes and the sword barely pushed through it all. Karran then took off his helmet to reveal a bloody forehead and battle scars surrounding it. Civilians grabbed his armor but Karran released himself by swiftly unhooking his chest guard. The extra speed gave him enough strength to run away and through a hole in the wall. But unfortunately for him, his kneepads were still on which made him trip over a large rock and stumble down a trail. Karran tried to unhook his pads, but his hands were so injured that the removal was a chore. Alexander grabbed a bow from a civilian and took aim. Karran started to notice the arrow but by then it was too late. _Shling!_ The arrow pieced his skull and left him dead, rolling down a rocky hill. The civilians were rejoicing, dancing and singing together. Congratulating each other for the sweet victory. Only few were mourning losses of family members and the sailors were turning back around to try and fight off any Mongols who were still at the docks. I myself was celebrating, dancing with Zero and Caliph. While the mass celebration was going on, there was light I saw off in the distance. A light that looked like a fire, far away enough to be in an area that was the last place I wanted to see it; Argos!


End file.
